If
Iowa State’s Mike Taylor took any personal pleasure in beating
Missouri’s Stefhon Hannah last night, then he owns a killer poker face.
Taylor seemed almost apologetic when his first Big 12 Conference victory
came at the expense of Hannah, his former teammate and roommate at
Chipola College.

Stefhon
Hannah, right, knocks the ball out of the hands of Iowa State's
Mike Taylor in the Tiger's 66-65 loss. Taylor and Hannah were
teammates at Chipola College last year.
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"There’s never no trash talking because we’ve got a whole lot of respect
for each other," Taylor said outside the visitor’s locker room at Mizzou
Arena. "We’re like basketball brothers."

Taylor’s graciousness aside, he has bragging rights until these teams
meet again Feb. 6. Hannah might have outplayed his fellow Chicago
native, but with 1.6 seconds left, Wesley Johnson’s put-back of Taylor’s
missed 3-pointer gave Iowa State a 66-65 victory. The Cyclones’ comeback
was made possible when Hannah committed a costly turnover with 7.7
seconds left.

For
the former teammates, though, the final score was more important than
the other one: Taylor 1, Hannah 0.

"It
was more of a team thing," Taylor said. "That’s what Coach has been
drilling us on this whole week: It’s more of a team thing. It’s not no
one player vs. another player, referring to me and Stefhon."

Losing his first conference game and first home game seemed to bother
Hannah as much as losing to his former teammate.

"He’s a competitive dude. I’m a competitive dude," said Hannah, who
talked to Taylor on the phone Friday night and exchanged text messages
throughout the week. "He just won the game, but it was great playing
against him."

Last season, Taylor and Hannah guided Chipola to a 27-3 record and a No.
6 ranking in the final NJCAA poll. Since parting ways from the Marianna,
Fla., junior college, both became catalysts for their new teams while
averaging an identical 16.0 points in nonconference play.

The
first Hannah-Taylor showdown in the Big 12 was fairly even on the stat
sheet. Hannah overcame two early fouls to finish with 17 points, three
assists and two turnovers.

Taylor matched Hannah’s 17 points but turned the ball over six times to
just one assist. Five of Taylor’s turnovers came in the first half,
prompting Cyclones Coach Greg McDermott to hand the ball-handling duties
to Corey McIntosh in the second half. McDermott also assigned Dodie
Dunson to cover Hannah through much of the second half.

But
after Taylor drained a 3-pointer in the final minute to cut MU’s lead to
65-62, Taylor requested a switch.

"Dunson
was doing a great job on him all night," Taylor said. "But when the game
was on line, I told Dodie, ‘You take Keon Lawrence, and I’m going to
guard Stefhon.’ "

Hannah never got off another shot. A defender tied him up for a
jump-ball in the lane on MU’s next possession. The Tigers regained
possession but couldn’t protect their slim lead.

"You never know what he’s going to do because he’s so tricky and quick
with the ball," Taylor said. "… It was kind of familiar, bringing back
the old days when we used to play at Chipola. I just locked in."

After a Johnson layup, Hannah was called for traveling in front of the
Iowa State bench despite appearing to call a timeout. The turnover set
up the Cyclones’ winning basket.

"The thing is you have to stay in front of him because he’s so quick off
his dribble," said Dunson, who successfully trapped Hannah along with
Jessan Gray to force the turnover.

Hannah made only 4 of 11 shots in the second half after going 3 for 3 in
just nine minutes in the first half.

Taylor wouldn’t reveal if he gave his team a scouting report on his
former teammate, but with some help from his teammates, Taylor earned
his bragging rights - even if he chose not to brag.